As of today, almost a third of the territory of Ukraine is mined, the country's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has said.

"Today we are speaking about 30% of the territory of Ukraine being mined. I mean the de-occupied and temporarily occupied territories," he said in an interview recorded on February 21 that was shown on the air of the national telethon on Wednesday.

"I can say from my experience: the longer the enemy stays on our territories, the more difficult it is to demine one or another territory […] the more mines with a secret are hidden. The more explosives with such a catch, an evil devilish catch, are hidden in our buildings and our roads by the way," the minister said.

According to Klymenko, the State Emergency Service teams are among the first to enter de-occupied territories for the purpose of mine clearing.